Friday, September 30, 2011

Former News of the World chief reporter states 'I took no part in the matter which has led to my dismissal'

Scotland Yard has now made me aware of the reason for my dismissal, a reason which News International has withheld from me for almost a month.

For legal reasons, I am unable to go into the reason cited.

However, I will say this. I took no part in the matter which has led to my dismissal after 21 years of service.

I say this most emphatically and with certainty and confidence that the allegation which led to my dismissal will eventually be shown to be false.

And those responsible for the action, for which I have been unfairly dismissed, will eventually be revealed.

For more than two years, News International has accepted I was not responsible for the matter in question and there is no valid or reliable evidence now to support their sudden volte face.

At the length, truth will out.

I await that time with patience but with a determination to fight my case to the end.I was saddened to hear that News International was giving "off the record" briefings about me to the press this week.

This has compelled me to speak for the first time since my name became linked to the phone-hacking scandal through the "for Neville" email more than two years ago.

I would request that News International abandon the unseemly practice of whispering behind the back of a loyal and long-serving former employee.

There is much I could have said publicly to the detriment of News International but so far, have chosen not to do so.

Therefore, let us all retain a dignified silence until we meet face to face in a public tribunal where the issues can be rigorously examined and fairness can eventually prevail.

A News of the World reporter implicated in Britain's phone hacking scandal has slammed Rupert Murdoch's News International for his sacking from the tabloid, insisting he was innocent and unfairly dismissed.

Neville Thurlbeck's comments Friday mark his first public defense of his role at the newspaper, which folded after 168 years under the weight of the scandal.

"I took no part in the matter which has led to my dismissal after 21 years of service," Thurlbeck, 49, said in a statement. "I say this most emphatically and with certainty and confidence that the allegation which led to my dismissal will eventually be shown to be false."

Thurlbeck's name has long been linked to the scandal that has enveloped Britain's press, and threatened Murdoch's global media empire.

It has claimed the jobs of high-profile executives at News International, along with the prime minister's communications director, Andy Coulson, and high-ranking officers of the Metropolitan Police Service. Ultimately, it forced Murdoch to scupper his multibillion pound (dollar) bid for satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

Thurlbeck _ then the News of the World's chief reporter _ was arrested in April on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages and released on bail.He has since lost his job with News International, and on Sept. 13 filed an unfair dismissal claim against his previous employers at a London employment tribunal.In Friday's statement, Thurlbeck accused News International of withholding the reason for his dismissal for almost a month, saying it was Scotland Yard who eventually informed him why he had been fired.

He said legal reasons prevent him from disclosing the reason for the firing, but warned that the truth will come out, and those responsible for the action which led to his dismissal "will eventually be revealed."

"I await that time with patience but with a determination to fight my case to the end," said Thurlbeck.

Asked to comment on Thurlbeck's case Friday, News International said it is not able to comment on circumstances regarding any individual, but continues to cooperate fully with "investigations into phone hacking and police payments to ensure that those responsible for criminal acts are brought to justice."

Murdoch decided to close News of the World in July as allegations piled up that it systematically intercepted the private voice mails of celebrities, politicians and crime victims.

News International has maintained that eavesdropping at the tabloid was limited to a single rogue reporter, Clive Goodman, along with the private investigator who was helping him break into voicemails of people working for the royal family.

But an email uncovered during legal proceedings seemed to cast doubt on that claim because it contained a transcript of an illegally obtained conversation, drawn up by a junior reporter and marked "for Neville" _ an apparent reference to Thurlbeck.

Thurlbeck said Friday he became compelled to speak out after News International started giving "off the record" briefings about him to the press.

"There is much I could have said publicly to the detriment of News International but so far, have chosen not to do so," he warned, urging the company to "retain a dignified stance" until the issues can be examined by the employment tribunal.

Thurlbeck is expected to claim he was fired for whistleblowing in the phone-hacking scandal that brought down his tabloid. A preliminary hearing was due to take place on Friday, but Thurlbeck withdrew because he said the "issues to be determined by the employment tribunal will require key individuals within the News Group Newspapers being cross-examined."

The British news agency Press Association reported that Ian Edmondson _ another former journalist at the tabloid who was arrested in April with Thurlbeck _ has lodged a similar claim for unfair dismissal. This was confirmed by another person familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity.

Piers Morgan was in charge of News of the World when it was bribing competitors for information. Photo / AP

Efficient, well-dressed and well-liked, Sue Harris was at the heart of the Sunday People, the smallest of Britain's weekly tabloids.

She booked flights, reserved accommodation, and tallied expenses for the populist paper's dozen or so reporters.

These journalists implicitly trusted the petite, 40-something south Londoner. Maybe they shouldn't have.

In 1995 Harris was dismissed over an allegation that she'd been feeding her paper's juiciest scoops to the Piers Morgan-edited News of the World, betraying her co-workers for a weekly payoff of £250 (then worth about $480).

"Everybody knew there was a mole," said a former senior journalist with the People. "We never thought the person we were looking for was her."

The journalist, who was there when Harris was fired, was among three former colleagues who recounted their stories on condition of anonymity...read more

Thursday, September 29, 2011

And so it begins. Hutton inquiry veterans will feel a flicker of recognition at this picture, snapped on Tuesday morning by Monkey's colleague Lisa O'Carroll, of a marquee-style temporary structure being erected in one of the courtyards at London's Royal Courts of Justice. Media hacks, sketch writers and other assorted hangers-on are going to get far too well aquainted with this marquee in the coming weeks and months. It's the media overflow room for the Leveson inquiry into phone hacking and all the other dodgy stuff pesky hacks get up to, see. Back in 2003, MediaGuardian hacks covering Hutton were still phoning in stories to PA copytakers, while the overflow room's widescreen TV monitors beaming in live footage and a rolling transcript from the inquiry courtroom nearby were regarded as cutting edge technology. With live streaming and tweeting, the reporting this time round might speedier than a Monkey up a tree.

The Guardian reports that Jonathan Caplan QC, representing Associated Newspapers, told a preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice that the inquiry would "benefit greatly" if the judge appointed additional advisers "to fill the gap" in expertise. The application by Associated Newspapers was supported by Trinity Mirror, the Newspaper Publishers' Association and Guardian News and Media.Read the whole story

A peak superannuation industry group is urging members who are News Corporation investors to vote against the re-election of James and Lachlan Murdoch to the global media empire's board.

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) says the sons of media baron Rupert Murdoch and other long-standing board members must be replaced with "credible, skilled outside directors" in the wake of the UK phone hacking scandal.The hacking scandal has seen billions of dollars wiped off the value of News Corporation's shares and it forced the company to drop its bid for the UK pay TV network BSkyB.

But ACSI does not only have the Murdochs in its sights; it has recommended its investors vote against the return of four other board members, including executive David De Voe, at the upcoming annual meeting.

ACSI chief executive Ann Byrne says the current board members are not the best for the company.

"Such an arrangement does not reflect good corporate governance practice and fails to provide safeguards to ensure that the company is run in the best interests of its shareholders," she said.

"All boards should comprise a majority of independent non-executive directors who are sufficiently motivated and equipped to fulfil the function of independent scrutiny of the company's activities."

"Board renewal at News Corporation is required to ensure that the interests of all shareholders are at the forefront in every board discussion."

Ms Byrne holds the board accountable for the hacking scandal, however she says it is not realistic to replace the entire board.

"In our view, the whole board is responsible for failures of oversight, however we regard it as impractical to recommend against the election of the whole board," she said.

But the council, which represents funds that manage assets worth more than $250 billion, admits it is unlikely these directors and board members will be voted out."Given that the Murdoch interests own approximately 40 per cent of the voting stock, there is no prospect of any of the incumbent directors having a majority vote against their re-election," Ms Byrne said.

"However in an endeavour to keep pressing for skilled independent directors to join News Corporation and raise the standard of oversight, a clear message needs to be conveyed to the board."

Earlier this month, James Murdoch, the boss of News Corp, turned down his bonus after News Corp awarded him and his father big compensation increases.

As head of international operations at US-based News Corp, James Murdoch has been under media and government scrutiny since the hacking scandal erupted at the London tabloid the News of the World on July 4.

It follows yesterday’s reports that ex-chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck is taking the company to an employment tribunal over the same claims.

Edmondson, 42, and Thurlbeck, 50, were both arrested in April on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages while working at the News of the World.

Edmondson was sacked from the Sunday tabloid in January after evidence allegedly emerged linking him to phone-hacking.

It came days after former NoW editor Andy Coulson resigned as Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications after admitting claims about illegal eavesdropping under his command were making his job impossible.

According to reports, Edmondson – unlike Thurlbeck – is not claiming he was a whistleblower. A preliminary hearing into Thurlbeck’s case will take place at the East London Tribunal Service centre on Friday

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

NoW's former chief reporter taking defunct tabloid's publishers to an employment tribunal, claiming he was a whistleblower

Neville Thurlbeck, former chief reporter at News of the World. Photograph: Rex Features

A News of the World reporter at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal is taking the defunct tabloid's publishers to an employment tribunal, claiming he was a whistleblower.

Neville Thurlbeck, the paper's former chief reporter, is claiming that he was unfairly dismissed by Rupert Murdoch's News Interrnational. There is scheduled to be a preliminary employment tribunal hearing in east London this Friday. It has only just come to light that Thurlbeck – who had been behind a string of high-profile exclusives at the News of the World – had been fired by the company.

News International said: "We will vigorously contest this case." Thurlbeck was arrested in April on suspicion of unlawfully intercepting mobile phone voicemail messages but remained on the payroll of the paper until recently, possibly this month.Thurlbeck has been a key figure in the phone-hacking scandal – his name appeared on an email sent to private investigator Glenn Mulcaire which contained a transcript of messages left on a mobile phone belonging to professional footballers association chief executive Gordon Taylor.

This "for Neville" email took centre stage in July when Rupert Murdoch and his son James appeared before MPs who believed it was evidence they knew phone hacking was not limited to one "rogue reporter" at the paper. Both the Murdochs denied this was the case. Employment law experts say it is only possible to use the Public Interest Disclosures Act – which protects whistleblowers from losing their jobs – in particular circumstances.

Ruth Neil, of employment law firm Stone Joseph, said that there are "very specific rules" in terms of what an individual whistleblower can claim under the act. She said to use it as a defence it was necessary to have reported any alleged wrongdoing to another person in authority, such as a police officer or other public servant.A source familiar with the matter said Thurlbeck's use of the whistleblower's defence was "an extraordinary tactic to deploy".

Neil said that it can be used as a defence if confidential information is disclosed about an employer, which is normally a breach of common law. If he wins his case it will also entitle him to unlimited damages. Normally compensation for unfair dismissals are capped at £68,400.

The sums involved in whistleblowers' cases can be enormous by comparison. An NHS manager unfairly dismissed "as a whistleblower" over plans to relocate cancer services out of his county was awarded £1.2m in compensation.

Last week Thurlbeck was at the centre of a privacy action in France relating to a 2008 "exclusive" concerning Formula one boss Mosley who was awarded £60,000 in 2008 after winning his privacy action against the Sunday tabloid in the UK.

In a separate development, Thurlbeck answered police bail along with two former News of the World journalists, Ian Edmondon, the paper's former assistant editor (news) and reporter James Weatherup.

I knew there was something but could not lay my finger on the 'niggle' when Tom Watson questioned Brooks, I though it was about Milly Dowler but no it was about Sara Payne...BROOKS needed to make it clear she had NEVER met Mulcaire ,her mind so much on MULCAIRE that she answered Tom's fifth time of questioning with 'I have NEVER met MulCaire !

The RUB, we did not know at the time of Brooks questioning Sara Payne had been hacked BUT Brooks clearly did.

Q437 Mr Watson: In your letter to us in 2009, you said that you did not recall meeting Glenn Mulcaire. You will appreciate that this is an inadequate answer in the circumstances, and that we require a specific response to our questions. Did you ever have any contact, directly or through others, with Glenn Mulcaire?

Rebekah Brooks: No. None whatsoever.

Q438 Mr Watson: Would your former diary secretary, Michelle, be able to confirm that?

Rebekah Brooks: Michelle?

Mr Watson: Your former diary secretary.

Rebekah Brooks: I've had a PA for 19 years called Cheryl.

Mr Watson: Okay. Would your PA be able to confirm that?

Rebekah Brooks: Absolutely.

Q439 Mr Watson: Does she hold your diary for the last 19 years?

Rebekah Brooks: No, she probably doesn't. We don't keep that for 19 years, but she may have something from back then. I don't know.

Q440 Mr Watson: Would it be in a paper format or an electronic format?

Rebekah Brooks: I did not meet Mr Mulcaire.

Sara Payne, whose eight-year-old daughter Sarah was abducted and murdered in July 2000, has been told by Scotland Yard that they have found evidence to suggest she was targeted by the News of the World’s investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, who specialised in the hacking of voicemail.

Police had earlier told her correctly that her name was not among those recorded in Mulcaire’s notes, but on Tuesday, officers from Operation Weeting informed her that they have now found her personal details among the investigator’s notes. These had previously been wrongly attributed to a different target.

Friends of Sara Payne today told the Guardian that she was ‘absolutely devastated and deeply disappointed’ at the disclosure. Her cause had been championed by the News of the World and, in particular, by its former editor, Rebekah Brooks. Believing that she had not been a target for hacking, Payne wrote a farewell column for the paper’s final edition on July 10, referring to its staff as “my good and trusted friends”.

The evidence which police have found in Mulcaire’s notes is believed to relate to a phone which was given to Sara Payne by Rebekah Brooks as a gift to help her stay in touch with her supporters. Brooks last night said the phone had not been a personal gift but had been provided to Payne by the News of the World ‘for the benefit of the campaign for Sarah’s law.”In a statement, Brooks said the latest allegations were ‘abhorrent’ and ‘particularly upsetting’ because Sara Payne was a dear friend. One of Payne’s close colleagues said: “We are all appalled and disgusted. Sara is in bits about it.” It is not known whether any messages for Payne were successfully hacked by Mulcaire.

Coming after the disclosure that the News of the World hacked and deleted the voicemail of the murdered Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler, the news will raise further questions about whether News International are ‘fit and proper’ to own TV licences and their 39% share of BSkyB.It will also revive speculation about the possible role in phone-hacking of Rebekah Brooks, who was personally very closely involved in covering the aftermath of Sarah Payne’s murder and who has always denied any knowledge of voicemail interception. Earlier this month, Brooks resigned as chief executive of News International and was arrested and interviewed by police.Labour MP Tom Watson, who has been an outspoken critic of News International, today said: “This is a new low. The last edition of the News of the World made great play of the paper’s relationship with the Payne family. Brooks talked about it at the committee inquiry. Now this. I have nothing but contempt for the people that did this.”

Friends of Sara Payne said she had accepted the News of the World as a friend as well as an ally. Journalists from the paper attended the funerals of her mother and father and visited her sick bed after she suffered a severe stroke in December 2009.

In the wake of the Guardian’s disclosure on July 4 of the hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone, there were rumours that Sara Payne also might have been a victim. Operation Weeting, which has been investigating the News of the World’s phone-hacking since January, checked the names of Payne and her closest associates against their searchable database of all the information contained in the notebooks, computer records and audio tapes seized from Glenn Mulcaire in August 2006. They found nothing.

The News of the World’s sister paper, the Sun, was quick to report on its website, on July 8, that Payne had been told there was no evidence to support the rumours. On the following day, the Sun quoted her paying tribute to the News of the World, whose closure had been announced by News International. “It’s like a friend died. I’m so shocked,” she told them.

In the paper’s final edition on Sunday July 10, Payne registered her own anger at the hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone: “We have all seen the news this week and the terrible things that have happened, and I have no wish to sweep it under the carpet. Indeed, there were rumours – which turned out to be untruue – that I and my fellow Phoenix charity chiefs had our phones hacked. But today is a day to reflect, to look back and remember the passing of an old friend, the News of the World.”

Since then, detectives from Weeting have searched the Mulcaire database for any reference to mobile phone numbers used by Sara Payne or her closest associates or any other personal details. They are believed to have uncovered notes made by Mulcaire which include some of these details but which had previously been thought to refer to a different target of his hacking. Police have some 11,000 pages of notes which Mulcaire made in the course of intercepting the voicemail of targets chosen by the News of the World.

Friends of Sara Payne today said that she had made no decision about whether to sue the paper and that she wanted the police to be able to finish their work before she decided. Operation Weeting are reviewing all high-profile cases involving the murder, abduction or assault of any child since 2001 in an attempt to find out if any of those involved was the target of phone-hacking.

In her statement, Brooks said: “The idea that anyone on the newspaper knew that Sara or the campaign team were targeted by Mr Mulcaire is unthinkable. The idea of her being targeted is beyond my comprehension. It is imperative for Sara and the other victims of crime that these allegations are investigated and those culpable brought to justice.”

Hayley Barlow, former News of the World PR, said on Twitter on Thursday night that Payne was baffled by the news that Mulcaire had details of her phone ‘as she didn’t even have voicemail on her phone until 2009″.

The Phoenix Chief Advocates, co-run by Payne, said in a statement: “Whilst it was previously confirmed by Operaton Weeting that Sara Payne’s name was not on private investigator Glenn Mulcaire’s list, it has now been confirmed by Operation Weeting that Sara’s details are on his list. Sara is absolutely devastated by this news. We’re all deeply disappointed and are just working to get her through it. Sara will continue to work with the proper authorities regarding this matter.”

Q423 Mr Watson: There are many questions I would like to ask you, but I will not be able to do so today because you are facing criminal proceedings, so I am going to be narrow in my questioning. Why did you sack Tom Crone?

Rebekah Brooks: We didn't sack Tom Crone. What happened with Tom Crone was, when we made the very regrettable decision to close the News of the World after 168 years, Tom Crone had predominantly been a News of the World lawyer. His status as NI legal manager, because of the situation at the News of the World, he predominantly spent most of his time, in fact, pretty much 99% of his time, on the News of the World. The rest of the company and the rest of the titles had appointed new lawyers and there wasn't a job for Tom once we closed the News of the World, and he left.

Q424 Mr Watson: Someone is still dealing with the News of the World legal cases though.

Rebekah Brooks: Sorry?

Mr Watson: Someone is still dealing with the News of the World legal cases though, presumably.

Rebekah Brooks: Yes. The civil cases are being dealt with by—as I said, the first one is the standards and management committee that we've set up. You've seen the announcements on that recently, so I won't go over them. I know that James and Rupert have talked about it. But also Farrers, who've been doing the civil cases all along. We've got some test cases coming up before the judge in January, and there are people dealing with that. Tom Crone's role was as hands-on legal manager of News of the World, and obviously when we closed the paper there wasn't a job there.

Q425 Mr Watson: I must have misunderstood what James Murdoch said. He implied that you sacked him, but I may be—it has been a busy day. As a journalist and editor of News of the World and The Sun, how extensively did you work with private detectives?

Rebekah Brooks: On The Sun not at all. When I was editor of News of the World, as you know, I came before this Committee just as I became editor of The Sun in relation to "What price privacy now?" and Operation Motorman, as it's called. Back then, we answered extensively questions about the use of private detectives across Fleet Street. As you know, a chart was published. I can't remember where the News of the World was on it, but I think it was fourth, and I think The Sun was below Take a Break Magazine. Certainly in the top five were The Observer, The Guardian, News of the World, Daily Mail—

Q426 Paul Farrelly: Chairman, may I interrupt? I declare that I used to work for The Observer, but left in 2001. The Observer was not in the top four.

Rebekah Brooks: Perhaps the top six.

Paul Farrelly: The Observer had four instances.

Rebekah Brooks: But it was on the table.

Q427 Mr Watson: To answer my question, you extensively worked with private investigators. Is that the answer?

Rebekah Brooks: No. What I said was that the use of private detectives in the late '90s and 2000 was a practice of Fleet Street, and after Operation Motorman and "What price privacy now?" Fleet Street reviewed this practice and in the main the use of private detectives was stopped. Don't forget that at the time, as you are aware, it was all about the Data Protection Acts and changes that were made. That's why we had the committee in 2003.

Q428 Mr Watson: For the third time, how extensively did you work with private detectives?

Rebekah Brooks: The News of the World employed private detectives, like most newspapers in Fleet Street.

Q429 Mr Watson: So it's fair to say that you were aware of , and approved payments to, private detectives.

Rebekah Brooks: I was aware that News of the World used private detectives under my editorship, yes.

Q430 Mr Watson: So you would have approved payments to them.

Rebekah Brooks: That's not how it works, but I was aware that we used them.

Q431 Mr Watson: Who would have approved the payments?

Rebekah Brooks: The payments system in a newspaper—this has been discussed at length—is simply that the editor's job is to acquire the overall budget for the paper from the senior management. Once that budget is acquired, it is given to the managing editor to allocate to different departments. Each person in that department has a different level of authorisation, but the final payments are authorised by the managing editor, unless there is a particularly big item such as a set of photographs or something that needs to be discussed on a wider level, and then the editor will be brought in.

Q432 Mr Watson: So Stuart Kuttner would have discussed some payments to private detectives with you?

Rebekah Brooks: Not necessarily, no. We are talking about 11 years ago. He may have discussed payments with me, but I don't particularly remember any incidents.

Q433 Mr Watson:You don't remember whether you would have discussed any
payments at all?

Rebekah Brooks: I didn't say that; I said in relation to private detectives. I was aware that the News of the World used private detectives, as every paper in Fleet Street did.

Rebekah Brooks: I can't remember if we ever discussed an individual payment, no.

Q437 Mr Watson: In your letter to us in 2009, you said that you did not recall meeting Glenn Mulcaire. You will appreciate that this is an inadequate answer in the circumstances, and that we require a specific response to our questions. Did you ever have any contact, directly or through others, with Glenn Mulcaire?

Rebekah Brooks: No. None whatsoever.

Q438 Mr Watson: Would your former diary secretary, Michelle, be able to confirm that?

Rebekah Brooks: Michelle?

Mr Watson: Your former diary secretary.

Rebekah Brooks: I've had a PA for 19 years called Cheryl.

Mr Watson: Okay. Would your PA be able to confirm that?

Rebekah Brooks: Absolutely.

Q439 Mr Watson: Does she hold your diary for the last 19 years?

Rebekah Brooks: No, she probably doesn't. We don't keep that for 19 years, but she may have something from back then. I don't know.

Q440 Mr Watson: Would it be in a paper format or an electronic format?

Rebekah Brooks: I did not meet Mr Mulcaire.

Mr Watson: I am talking about your diary. Is it in electronic format or a paper format?

Rebekah Brooks: It would have been in a paper format until very recently.

Q441 Mr Watson:Okay. Do you think Glenn Mulcaire would deny that he ever met you?

Rebekah Brooks: I am sure he would, although—yes; it's the truth.

Q442 Mr Watson:Were you aware of the arrangement that News Group Newspapers had with Mr Mulcaire while you were the editor of News of the World and The Sun?

Rebekah Brooks: No.

Q443 Mr Watson: So you didn't know what he did?

Rebekah Brooks: I didn't know particularly that Glenn Mulcaire was one of the detectives that was used by the News of the World, no.

Q444 Mr Watson: You didn't know he was on the payroll?

Rebekah Brooks: In fact, I first heard Glenn Mulcaire's name in 2006.

Q445 Mr Watson: Did you receive any information that originated from Glenn Mulcaire or his methods?

Rebekah Brooks: What to me, personally?

Q446 Mr Watson:You as editor. Did anyone bring you information as a result of Glenn Mulcaire's methods?

Rebekah Brooks: I know it is an entirely appropriate question, but I can only keep saying the same answer: I didn't know Glenn Mulcaire. I had never heard the name until 2006. There were other private investigators I did know about and had heard about, but he wasn't one of them. Q447 Mr Watson: We will come on to that. Now that you know what you know, do you suspect that you might have received information on the basis of stuff gathered by Glenn Mulcaire?

Rebekah Brooks: Now I know what I know—this is one of the difficulties. Obviously I know quite an extensive amount now, particularly from the past six months of investigating this story. Glenn Mulcaire, I am aware, worked on and off for the News of the World, I think, in the late '90s, and continued through until 2006 when he was arrested. Obviously, if he worked with the News of the World for that time, he was involved. I think the judge said in 2007—again, we may disagree with that now—that when Glenn Mulcaire was convicted, he had a perfectly legitimate contract with the News of the World for research and investigative work. The judge said that quite repeatedly throughout the trial. So that is what I can tell you.

Q448 Mr Watson:Did you ever have any contact directly or through others with Jonathan Rees?

Rebekah Brooks: No.

Q449 Mr Watson: Do you know about Jonathan Rees?

Rebekah Brooks: I do. Again, I have heard a lot recently about Jonathan Rees. I watched the "Panorama" programme, as we all did. His wasn't a name familiar to me. I am told that he rejoined the News of the World in 2005 or 2006, and he worked with the News of
the World and many other newspapers in the late 1990s. That is my information.

Q450 Mr Watson:Do you find it peculiar that, having served a sentence for a serious criminal offence, he was then rehired by the paper?

Rebekah Brooks: It does seem extraordinary.

Q451 Mr Watson: Do you know who hired him?

Rebekah Brooks: No I don't.

Q452 Mr Watson: Do you know who signed his contract?

Rebekah Brooks: No. Sorry.

Q453 Mr Watson:If you have been conducting an investigation for six months, did you not take the time to find out?

Rebekah Brooks: The investigation that we have been conducting over the six months is particularly around the interception of voicemails, as you know. The management and standards committee at News International is going to look at Jonathan Rees, and we already do have some information. As to the conclusion of that investigation, I do not know.

Q454 Mr Watson: What information do you have?

Rebekah Brooks: We have information that, as I said, Jonathan Rees worked for many newspapers in Fleet street in the late '90s, and then he was rehired by the News of the World sometime in 2005, maybe 2006.

Q455 Mr Watson:Do you know what he was doing at that time?

Rebekah Brooks: I don't. I'm sorry—no.

Q456 Mr Watson:Did you not ask?

Rebekah Brooks: Well I was the editor of The Sun at the time and I didn't know they had rehired him. I have only found that out recently.

Q457 Mr Watson:When you were chief executive of the company, did you not wonder what he did in 2005-06, given that you have a hacking scandal breaking around you?

Rebekah Brooks: Absolutely, and I have the information that "Panorama" had, that Jonathan Rees worked as a private investigator. The "Panorama" programme said that he was conducting many, many illegal offences—that is what I saw, as you did. Also, he used to work for "Panorama". He worked for many newspapers, presumably before his conviction, as you say, and then he was rehired by the News of the World.

Q458 Mr Watson: Do you believe that he conducted illegal activities on behalf of News of the World?

Rebekah Brooks: I can only comment on what I know, and I don't know that.

Q459 Mr Watson: What is your belief?

Rebekah Brooks: I don't know.

Q460 Mr Watson: You don't know what he did?

Rebekah Brooks: I don't know what he did for the News of the World—I'm sorry.

Q461 Mr Watson:Do you not think that people will just find it incredible that, as chief executive of the company, you don't know?

Rebekah Brooks: It may be incredible, but, again, it is also the truth. I heard about Jonathan Rees's rehiring by the News of the World through an investigation conducted by "Panorama".

Q462 Mr Watson: Did you ever have any contact, directly or through others, with Steve Whittamore?

Rebekah Brooks: Yes.

Q463 Mr Watson: What did you do with him?

Rebekah Brooks: Steve Whittamore was one of the private detectives, as I said, who formed, I think, the major part of Operation Motorman.

Q464 Mr Watson:I don't want to know what Steve Whittamore did; I would like to know what you did with him.

Rebekah Brooks: Sorry?

Q465 Mr Watson: I would like to know what you did with him.

Rebekah Brooks: In the main, my use of private investigators while I was editor of the News of the World was purely legitimate and in pursuit in the main, as you know, of the addresses and whereabouts of convicted paedophiles through Sarah's law. That is my majority—if not almost my exclusive—use of private investigators. But I respect that the News of the World also used private investigators for other stories.

Q466 Mr Watson:Are you aware that Steve Whittamore conducted two ex-directory look-ups on the Dowler family in Walton-on-Thames?

Rebekah Brooks: I was not aware of that until two weeks ago.

Q467 Mr Watson: You are now.

Rebekah Brooks: Yes, I am.

Q468 Mr Watson:Why did you hold a mobile conversion from Steve Whittamore?

Rebekah Brooks: As I said, it was 11 years ago. I have answered this question many times, but just to repeat, a mobile conversion is finding an address from a mobile phone, and it can be got through legitimate means. In fact, in the story that you refer to, the mobile phone number was a business number and the address was widely known.

Q469 Mr Watson: So you can remember what the story was.

Rebekah Brooks: I have just said to you that I can—

Q470 Mr Watson: What was the story you were working on?

Rebekah Brooks: I read it in The New York Times.

Q471 Mr Watson: Was it a paedophile that you were after then?

Rebekah Brooks: It would be unfair to the person concerned, because he has been named by The Guardian and The New York Times. But I am saying that the very few occasions on which I used private detectives were on Sarah's law.

Q472 Mr Watson:Can you name other private detectives you worked with?

Rebekah Brooks: No.

Q473 Mr Watson:You cannot remember them?

Rebekah Brooks: No.

Q474 Mr Watson: Are you aware that the paper used other detectives, though?

Rebekah Brooks: He was the one that I was aware of at the time. As I said, the first time I heard about Glenn Mulcaire was when he was arrested in 2006.

Q476 Mr Watson:Is it your belief that the paper used other private investigators, and you just cannot remember them today?

Rebekah Brooks: No, it isn't that I cannot remember. You have the same information as I have, which is from Operation Motorman.

Q477 Mr Watson: One last question: do you have any regrets?

Rebekah Brooks: Of course I have regrets. The idea that Milly Dowler's phone was accessed by someone being paid by the News of the World—or even worse, authorised by someone at the News of the World—is as abhorrent to me as it is to everyone in this room. It is an ultimate regret that the speed at which we have found out, and tried to find out, the bottom of this investigation has been too slow. James and Rupert accepted that earlier. We—they, now that I have left the company—are endeavouring to continue to investigate. But of course there are regrets.

The way we were … a 2002-era handset with Vodafone. Photograph: Ian Waldie/Getty Images

The latest twist in the phone-hacking scandal reminds Monkey of a Shaftas award ceremony held at London's Century Club in 2002. The biggest cheers of the night went to Vodafone, which was sponsoring the awards celebrating the worst flyers, showbiz interviews and cock-ups of Fleet Street. The representatives from Vodafone who were attending the awards thought the hacks in the audience were cheering because of the phone company's sponsorship. Alas no.

The then Bizarre editor, Dominic Mohan, went on to thank "Vodafone's lack of security" for the showbusiness exclusives of his rival, the Daily Mirror. Cue nonplussed looks on the Vodafone bigwigs' faces. Mohan was joking about the Mirror, but many present knew about Vodafone's default number and that some were taking advantage of it.

Evidence now with the FBI is building a unique case history on how the Boys From Newscorp unit NAM racketeered their way to a monopoly in America.

I got a bit of stick from some quarters earlier this month for referring to one of Rupert Murdoch’s Capos as a mobster. I’m very glad to say that the mafia parallel is deservedly catching on. Especially in the American media, where the word is out that the Murdoch company I was referring to – News America, or ‘Nam as the Newscorpers call it – has indeed, as I suggested, been behaving like a bunch of knucklehead racketeers in ‘growing’ its business….aka, trying to eliminate the competition.

Nam used lessons gleaned from Mafia films to motivate employees and crush rivals – and is the latest stone in Newscorp to be turned over – and swept up in a probe that began with hacking and bribery allegations.News America’s CEO, also publisher of the New York Post, admitted in one case that he used popular Mafia films such as “‘A Bronx Tale” and “The Untouchables” to teach employees how to instill fear in potential clients... more at the SLOG!

Ring, a ring a story
How appropriate that the most glamourous event in the showbusiness calender should be sponsored by a phone company. Mohan went on to thank "Vodafone's lack of security" for the Mirror's showbusiness exclusives. Whatever does he mean?

Phone-hacking scandal 'far beyond News of the World', alleges MP, calling for James Murdoch to resign as BSkyB chairman

Labour MP and home affairs select committee member Tom Watson has alleged that the phone-hacking scandal has gone 'far beyond the News of the World' and the Sun newspaper is involved. Photograph: David Gadd/Allstar/Sportsphoto

Tom Watson made the allegation during an emergency motion debate on the phone-hacking scandal at the Labour party conference which called for James Murdoch to stand down as chairman of BSkyB in the wake of the phone hacking scandal that rocked Rupert Murdoch's media empire this summer.

The scandal took centre stage at the party conference on Tuesday morning as speakers took turn to lament Labour's past era of cosy relationships with media barons and called for measures to clamp down on bad practice by media companies and journalists.

Watson warned Labour activists that the scale of phone hacking at the now closed News of the World could be the tip of the iceberg.

"Do you really think that hacking only happened on the News of the World?" he said. "Ask Dominic Mohan, the current editor of the Sun. He used to joke about lax security at Vodafone when he attended celebrity parties. Ask the editor of the Sun if he thinks Rupert Murdoch's contagion has spread to other newspapers. If he gives you an honest answer, he'll tell you it's only a matter of time before we find the Sun in the evidence file of the convicted private investigator that hacked Milly Dowler's phone.

"This month we learn that journalists at the Times are affected by this scandal. The paper is shutting down its BlackBerry phone network – I hope they aren't deleting the records."... read more

Monday, September 26, 2011

News via twitter, suggestions this burglary may have had something to do with hackgate. Only Mr.Vaz will know if information on his researchers computer relates. I hope Tom Watson mentions this to Mr.Vaz.

Commons security fears after thieves raid Keith Vaz office

A house of Commons security row has erupted after a spate of burglaries on the eve ofPresident Obama's state visit to Parliament, the Evening Standard has learned.

Former minister Mr Vaz, who heads backbench inquiries into policing and security, is one of Westminster's most senior figures and privy to highly sensitive information.However, thieves strolled into his private office while he was at a Commons reception, even though it is in a corridor reserved for senior MPs.

The MP in the next door office lost a laptop at the same time and has previously had his passport stolen from his desk. However, there were no video cameras in the area to record who might have been responsible.

One MP said: "If thieves can take away a laptop with nobody noticing, they could also plant a package. Clearly security needs to be tightened up."

Mr Vaz confirmed his office was entered while he was attending an awards ceremony between 7pm and 10pm.

"There is quite rightly a large police operation taking place outside the building for the protection of President Obama," he said. "The worry is that if thieves can operate within the building, then outsiders may be able to compromise the security operation."

The Commons is protected by airport-style security screening at all its entrances.

However, there have been a series of lapses where protesters have got in.

Insiders say that MPs themselves have resisted having video cameras installed because they want to protect their privacy. But now some are calling for a rethink.